


When the Dragon Meets the Sun

by GMTYUniverse



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, One Direction (Band)
Genre: A Little Adventure, Buckbeak - Freeform, Dragonologist!Louis, Dragons, Felix Felicis, Herbologist!Harry, Hippogriffs, M/M, Magical Creatures, Mystery, Nimbletail, No Smut, Teacher!Harry, i think lol, mention of past Greg James/Louis Tomlinson, only gentle kisses, some doesnt, some gets solved, teacher!niall, they're still friends though, which is fine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-16 05:07:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18684751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GMTYUniverse/pseuds/GMTYUniverse
Summary: “Thank Merlin,” Phoebe starts.“We really don’t want anyone to overhear, not even Fizzy knows,” Daisy finishes her twin sister’s sentence.Louis frowns, his concern increasing by the second as he carefully considers their facial expressions. ‘Knows what?’“We found an egg! We left it in the Room of Requirement and then when we came in, there was an incubator and everything. Turns out we found a baby dragon right here in the Forest!”For a moment, Louis wonders if something went wrong and he accidentally cast Muffliato on himself, because his ears are ringing and he feels a little light-headed. His sisters’ lips are moving as they speak, but he doesn’t actually catch anything else they’re saying past “little baby dragon”.OR the one where Louis is a world renowned dragonologist and his sisters are pretty sure they've discovered a dragon egg that needs saving. A secret mission to extract the dragon from Hogwarts ensues.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [becomeawendybird (QuickedWeen)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuickedWeen/gifts).



> Please note that I started this fic before Fizzy's passing. While I couldn't get myself to continue on with the story that featured her as one of the main protagonists, I also didn't want to erase her completely from the story. As such, the first chapter is a letter written from Fizzy to Louis that forms the introduction to the story - you can definitely skip it if you want, though some things might be a little unclear. 
> 
> Thank you to the mods for allowing me additional time to kind of regroup and decide how I wanted to tell this story instead - it's deeply appreciated by me. 
> 
> To the person who submitted this prompt - I hope you like it and I did it justice.

**September, 2016 - Hogwarts**

 

_Hi Lou!_

_Hope all is well with you, and that Cassie made her way to you safe and sound._

_I’m having a great time at school. I have to say it’s a little strange that I’m suddenly the oldest Tomlinson here now, but the professors keep reminding me of both you and Lottie’s time here. You’ll have to tell me how you managed to pull off that prank which involved tricking the Hogwarts staircases into defaulting towards the East Tower! Serena and I have started practicing our Patronus, but it’s not as easy as you made it out to be over summer hols._

_(And also if you have some old notes somewhere from your Astronomy classes, they’d be very appreciated. Sinistra said you got an Outstanding, though she also added she still didn't understand_   _how_.)

_Oh, apparently there’s a new professor this year for Herbology, who I think might’ve been in your year at Hogwarts? Forgot his name but everyone’s been talking about how young he is. I’ve only got Herbology next term, but I hope he won’t be weird about it._

_How’s Greg doing, by the way? I haven’t heard or seen him around much._

_Also, Phoebe and Daisy were pretty adamant that you had to come see them – or at least talk to them for a little bit. Maybe Firecall? They recently restored the network in all the Common Rooms. Twins won’t say what it’s about, by the way, but I guess it’s just that they’re actually pretty homesick and miss you a lot._

_Will you be at home for Christmas? Hope you’ll manage._

_Much love,_

_Fizzy_


	2. Chapter 2

Louis is annoyed.

First of all, his top secret location clearly isn’t very top secret if Cassie – the dumbest owl in Tomlinson possession – has managed to track him down in what seems to be less than a week.

Second of all, he hates that his research isn’t going as planned and instead he seems to have found himself stuck in some dumb political circle jerk he did not ask to be a part of.

Louis knows it’s a necessary evil, understands all too well why they’ve asked him to come to this private negotiations session, but he doesn’t have to like it. And he _doesn’t_ like it. Not one bit.

There’s a very good reason why he doesn’t work for the Beast Division or the wider DRCMC. It’s why he’s still slightly pissed off with Greg for leaving Louis to deal with the reserve they built from scratch together. Even though he knows it’s only slightly ridiculous to blame Greg for wanting to leave. Louis had always known Greg is passionate about changing policy and laws on magical creatures, had proofread way too many of Greg’s essays on Hermione Granger’s work. Plus, he knows all about the mandate and package the Ministry had offered him. He’d been offered it too, but the difference is that Louis rejected it.

It still stings a little. Like it’s a personal betrayal.

Which, to a certain degree it is, because the falling-out that erupted over it caused their relationship to break down. But Louis is trying hard to stay cordial with his ex.

Especially given the fact they’ll probably spend the rest of their lives working in the same sector and Louis’d rather have some sort of friend over at the Ministry than that stupid clown of a Boris Shellenberger.

He hates that someone from the Ministry has to accompany him whenever he’s going on a fieldtrip. Especially if it’s someone who’s often expressed his desire to uphold archaic pieces of legislation that do nothing to benefit the magical creatures they’re supposed to protect.

Louis takes a deep breath and tries to maintain a relaxed composure as he reminds himself of the reason he’s here in the first place. They’ve got a baby Vipertooth, confiscated as an egg earlier this year and hatched under Louis’ care up in the reserve.

The thing is, as much as Louis is nowadays introduced as “British’ finest dragonologist”, he doesn’t know nearly enough about the Peruvian Vipertooth to adequately care for their little baby. He’d corresponded with Melisa - head of the reserve in Cusco where Vipertooths are native - but then baby Alex had fallen ill.

From what he’s gathered, part of the issue is probably that Vipertooths are not solitary dragons at all. A large part of their immune system is fostered through frequent contact with fellow species, which is what baby Alex has been missing ever since birth.

He’d asked for permission from the Ministry to go to Peru and see if they could transfer one of their dragons to his reserve up in the Outer Hebrides, but they’d immediately raised a different issue of public health.

Vipertooths were, after all, the main cause of the big dragon pox outbreak. As such, Louis needs to be absolutely certain he’s doing everything he can to maintain a healthy working environment and not endanger himself or the British population.

Which apparently meant that the Ministry would send along some guy from the Beast Division that would oversee the negotiations and stipulations involved in the transfer.

It is just Louis’ luck that they’d choose Shellenberger, who’s notorious for his long drawn-out diplomatic protocols that need to be followed to the letter, instead of Liam Payne who is at least efficient and seems to care.  

Instead of just having a meeting to obtain the permission of the government and Melisa’s reserve, he’s stuck in a seemingly endless nonsensical process full of unnecessary negotiations.

And on top of all that, he can’t even be happy about getting a letter from his sister. This entire visit is supposed to be top level secret, given the fact they’re dealing with XXXX classified magical creatures - but instead even the dumbest owl can apparently find out where he is. If that isn't a serious breach of security, Louis doesn't know what is. 

He would like to complain to Shellenberger and point out what an enormous tit he is, and that they need to wrap things up before poachers get on their tail. It’s also why Louis prefers actually flying the dragon to their new destination, but he knows that’s very much unacceptable to both the Ministry, as well as most reserves even.

His personal approach is rather, well, unorthodox.  He knows that. It’s why he started his own reserve from scratch. He doesn’t agree with the classification of most dragon species, and finds that usually it’s just based on the fact that dragons in general are thoroughly misunderstood. Which he knows he’s right about, because there’s a reason why his preservation, rehabilitation, and repopulation programs are the most successful.

Either way, Louis will have to find a way to conclude this visit to Cusco sooner rather than later. For the sake of the dragon's health, his own mental health, and now the added responsibility of whatever has caused his sisters to reach out to him. 

“Right, Tommo. Time to put your big boy pants on,” he tells himself, as he quickly fixes his clothes before making his way to Shellenberger’s makeshift office.

He doesn’t knock, just barges in and gets right down to business.

‘Tomlinson! Have you truly never heard of knocking?’

Louis wants to roll his eyes. He’s pretty sure that the Ministry of Magic tracks his magic everywhere he goes – he’s not dumb and he’s definitely felt the presence and pull of foreign magic interwoven with his own traces lingering in the air. If anything, Shellenberger is some sort of glorified babysitter – he definitely could’ve known Louis was coming his way.

“Listen, Boris. We need to hurry up. Alex needs help, we need to get moving or it will all be for naught anyways. I have other things to tend to, the reserve is understaffed as is. So – either you can help me get the Vipertooth to England with all the proper paperwork in place, or you can clean up a big diplomatic mess once I’ve struck a deal with Melisa separately and I’m out of here come morning.”

He can see shock, then indignation cross Boris’ face before he finally schools it into a neutral expression again. They both know Louis is absolutely 100% capable of following through on the latter option, so he just gives Louis a strained sort of smile.

‘I see Mr. Tomlinson that you’re in quite the hurry. No matter, as it appears – the paperwork is all done. We just need to send a copy over to the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.’

It’s always interesting how things can suddenly be handled oh so very quickly and efficiently, if sufficient pressure is given. He sighs when Boris continues with the procedure to sign the documentation in bold ink, prior to sealing it with a special magically encrypted wax.

While he is very much aware and appreciative of the fact that this is an extraordinary operation that the Ministry has luckily allowed him to be a part of, he still firmly dislikes the sluggish department.

The bundle of papers disappears into the Floo network, and then Shellenberger turns back to Louis. ‘I read that the preferred method of transportation was apparition?’

A wicked smile takes over Louis’ face. There’s one tiny little snag in that plan. Originally, the idea had been to bring Alex here as a small baby dragon. Vipertooths aren’t that large, but definitely still too big to take with you in a Side-Along Apparition in their adult size.

However, Alex is in too critical condition to transport – which is how they’d ended up in this situation anyways. The Ministry had just never bothered to ask Louis how he was going to take back Rosa, the Vipertooth they’d be adding to the reserve.

And since no one had asked, Louis hadn’t supplied any other information. Besides, the Ministry’s public servant would still return via Apparition. It’d be just Louis who wouldn’t.

“Originally, yes.”

He can see Shellenberger’s face cloud in confusion and disdain, an unattractive frown between his eyebrows as he scrunches up his nose.

‘I don’t think I like where this is going.’

Louis laughs brightly. “Don’t worry Shellenberger, you’ll be able to apparate just as usual. See you back in England.”

There’s some protests coming from behind Louis as he turns around, but they both know that whatever Shellenberger says will be futile and pointless.

Louis is going to fly Rosa home, whether they think that’s a good and safe idea or not.

Clearly Louis errs on the ‘good and perfectly safe’ side of that argument. Then again, he’s the one who own a dragon reserve and pets their wings and clips their nails. Yes, they’re dangerous, but they’re not unpredictably, unnecessary cruel.

As long as he can make sure Rosa understands he’s not going to hurt her, and they’re going to travel – things should be just fine.

 

* * *

 

 

Clearly Rosa does not trust Louis at all, which he’d normally have a laugh at if he wasn’t worried over her stress levels and also baby Alex’ health back home. She refuses to have him come too close, breathing hot fire through her nose as a warning sign whenever he takes an additional step in her direction.

“I thought they called you the Dragon Whisperer,” Melisa teases as she watches from the sidelines whilst Louis makes another failed attempt at grabbing onto Rosa’s neck.

‘Well – their words, not mine! Ah, she’s a feisty little lady. That’s okay. I think Alex will be the same way once she gets older,’ he says, affection shining through even as he thinks of the nasty burn Alex’ cough had given him last week.

She can’t help it, and he doesn’t blame her. It was easy enough to fix with the right healing spells.

Louis decides to pull his wand out of his pocket, creating a little flame at the top of it, then starts up a soothing murmur. Normally he tries to win their trust without a little Calming Incantation, but Rosa has other ideas and Louis’ on a tight schedule.

He grins as Rosa lowers her head, allowing Louis to finally throw a harness over her, as he makes sure to scratch over the sensitive scales in her neck. She releases a small puff of smoke, happily surprised at the sensation.

It’s once Louis’ certain that the harness has been properly attached and Rosa won’t be able to suddenly drop him or get away, that he knows it’s time to say goodbye.

Melisa is slightly astonished by seeing the submission of a dragon – without violence ever being necessary, but doesn’t ask Louis any questions. “Be safe, Luís,” she repeats with a strong accent, then waves him off - still slightly stunned at what she's just witnessed.

He snorts at her half-hearted request: Be safe.

They both know that working with dragons is never truly safe. No matter how much trust Louis is willing to put in them. They’ll always be creatures first. Which is fine, he supposes. The Wizarding World should be able to adapt, as long as they treat dragons with the respect they deserve, and give them space.

It’s a shame that so many species have gone extinct, or are gravely endangered. There are rumours though, that they’re considering implementing Louis' repopulation program on a wider scale. Louis isn’t quite sure whether he’s supposed to be in favour or against it – it’s not like he’s seen any concrete proposals. He wonders whether it would safeguard the dragons’ actual protection, rather than their enslavement. Not all people who work with dragons have the same intentions as Louis has, after all. 

People like Shellenberger don’t feel about magical creatures the way Louis does. The way they deserve.

For now, though, he feels very happy knowing that he’s doing all he can to save at least one little Vipertooth from an unnecessary, early death.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Alex gets better quickly after Rosa’s settled in, though Louis finds out after just a couple of days that Alex is in fact a boy – not a girl.

Which isn’t exactly a problem, it’s just that for a split second Louis envisions multiple baby dragons and an actual Hatchery that he shouldn’t even dream of. They’re not allowed to breed dragons, though if it were to happen organically, of course Louis couldn’t do anything to stop it.

In an attempt to not drift off into dangerous territory, he walks over to his Pensieve and takes the thought out of his mind. Perhaps a bit rigorous, but Louis still has so much on his mind what with the restructuring now that Greg’s gone.

The house is also weirdly empty, aside from Louis’ Crup Cliffy. He decides to unpack instead, stuff still strewn all around his bedroom. There are more than enough empty drawers now. He reaches for his bag, checking once more if he got everything out, when he catches sight of a letter.

The letter his sister had sent him days ago when he was still in Peru. He’d sent back a short note with Cassie, saying he’d check in as soon as he’d made it home. Clearly he’d forgotten.

Louis swears loudly to himself, then jogs over to see what time it is before throwing a handful of Floo powder into his fireplace.

He sticks his head into the flames and grins when there’s a very loud scream, followed by the image in front of his eyes clearing up a bit.

“Daisy, Phoebe! It’s your brother! Oh my god, it’s actual Louis Tomlinson,” some first-year Slytherin yells loudly.

Louis winces.

He hates that his sisters have to deal with those kind of comments – he just wants to talk to them, not steal any attention or cause trouble. It’s hard enough as is to be the fourth and fifth Tomlinson in school, just because there’s so much history there for the professors. Sometimes he regrets being so much of a little shit, if only because of his sisters having to deal with the legacy of his pranks now.

‘Get out – he’s our brother, not yours,’ he can hear Daisy snap at some poor unfortunate soul. Louis’ tuts come out as small bursts of fire.

“Don’t be mean,” he scolds, though he can understand their frustration.

Louis wishes he could apparate and just give them a cuddle, but that’s not how Hogwarts works. Firecalls are technically not prohibited, but it’s also not _encouraged_.

Still, if Louis’ sisters need him, he’s going to be there for them.

Phoebe looks around as if checking for any eavesdroppers. Louis quickly murmurs a Muffliato spell, and he can see his siblings’ shoulders sag in relief. They’re quite the chatterboxes, much like Louis was himself at Hogwarts, so staying quiet doesn’t exactly come naturally to them.

“Thank Merlin,” Phoebe starts.

“We really don’t want anyone to overhear, not even Fizzy knows,” Daisy finishes her twin sister’s sentence.

Louis frowns, his concern increasing by the second as he carefully considers their facial expressions.

‘Knows what?’

“We found an egg! We left it in the Room of Requirement and then when we came in, there was an incubator and everything. Turns out we found a baby dragon right here in the Forest!”

For a moment, Louis wonders if something went wrong and he accidentally cast Muffliato on himself, because his ears are ringing and he feels a little light-headed. His sisters’ lips are moving as they speak, but he doesn’t actually catch anything else they’re saying past “little baby dragon”.

The thing is. It should be impossible. To bring a magical creature of that classified level onto Hogwarts’ territory without anyone noticing the disturbance.

But Louis also knows too many stories, has heard too many tales of Hagrid bringing in exotic animals that he can’t just dismiss it as a wrongfully identified creature or object. 

He’ll have to come and see it, and hopefully he can just take it home if it’s still small enough.

‘Don’t tell anyone. Not even the professors. I’ll have to leave some instructions here, then I’ll be on my way. Also, don’t tell anyone I’m coming to see you either. It might be nothing, girls. But please be careful, just in case.’

They seem slightly offended and disappointed at his suggestion of the egg being nothing but a fossil – a rock, really. Still, they begrudgingly promise to be careful.

Louis’ brain is racing a mile a minute as he says goodbye to his sisters, trying to figure out what he will need the others to take care of in his absence.

First though, he’s going to need to call in a favour.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“I can’t believe you finally accepted my invitation, mate! You’ve no idea how excited the kids will be,” Niall enthuses as he squeezes Louis’ body before letting him go.

Louis can’t help but give him an endeared smile in return. He’s missed Niall.

‘You’re sure they won’t notice me, though? I’d rather it’s all a surprise.’

Niall shoots him a look, then nods towards the Hogsmeade grounds. “You apparated just outside of the Hogwarts property line so I’m pretty sure no-one would’ve noticed.”

He pauses then and pins his gaze back on Louis. “You alright, though?”

The honest answer would be that Louis doesn’t really know if he’s alright. He's anxious about discovering what his sisters called him in for, and he hates being away from the reserve on a normal day anyways – let alone when he’s suddenly sole director and they’ve got a young, just recovered dragon under their care.

But he doesn’t want to burden Niall with all of that, knows exactly what pitying looks he’d receive. Zayn does it all the time, though he’d booted him out of the reserve just this morning to ensure Louis would at least leave. He’s told Louis on multiple occasions now that he’s married to his job, and that it’s unhealthy, but honestly?

Louis is well aware of that. The thing is that it used to never be a problem, because his partner was just as obsessed by the work they were doing. Or at least Louis had thought so. Now he doesn’t really have a reason to focus on anything but his work and his family.

Of course, were he to meet the right person – that understands his passion for his job and the odd hours it may lead him to have, then he’d happily spend all his free time with them. He’d make it work.

‘Yeah, just busy, you know?’ He settles for eventually, as he follows Niall to a spot just outside view but firmly inside Hogsmeade.

He can tell that Niall doesn’t actually believe his reply, but chooses to let it slide for now.

At least his friend knows when to give Louis some time to come to him, rather than force it out of him instead.

“Mhm. We’ll talk about that later. Now show me! Where’s he?”

Louis grins at the excited expression on Niall’s face.

He sets down his backpack, opens up the front compartment and promptly dives into it.

Extension Charms are his favourite, and they’re so useful whenever he’s transporting other animals. He knows Nimbletail won’t be too happy with him for having been locked up in his paddock, so he’s prepared for the worst groveling session he’s had to do in ages.

Nimbletail bristles as soon as he catches sight of Louis, and Louis can tell by the gleam in his eyes that he’s expecting Louis to apologize for his treatment.

Which is fine, Louis knows he deserves it. Nimbletail hasn’t been in his Extended backpack for years. So he bows deeply, then stares back into Nimble’s big orange eyes trying his best not to blink. He can’t help but let out a small sigh of relief once Nimble bows back and squawks at him, talons dragging over the ground of his paddock.

‘Yes, I know – I’m sorry. You’ll be out soon and I’ll take you on a little ride. It’ll be fun.’

He bristles, and lifts up his beak as if he’s impersonating a human exasperated huff, but spreads his wings nonetheless to let Louis give him a quick check-up prior to climbing on his back.

‘We won’t go far – just to Hogwarts, alright? But there you’ll be able to show off your skills, promise.’

Nimbletail seems mollified by the explanation, and immediately takes off. Louis cheers in delight as they escape the extended insides of his backpack and come back up into the Hogsmeade territories. He can hear Niall’s whoop in the distance as they pass him by, and lets Nimble have his fun for a little bit before steering him back down towards the ground.

He can’t just leave his backpack behind, and he really should make sure that Niall knows where to meet him.

Clearly Nimble has other plans, because while he gracefully lands on the ground, he throws Louis off of his back with much less grace.

‘Fine, sorry! I’m not going to put you back in there, I promise – just need to grab your food, which _is_ in there.’

Niall just laughs as Louis quickly mutters a spell to clean the dirt off of his trousers. “Oh this is going to be great! Nimble’s beautiful, and has quite the personality on him – I love him already.”

Louis rolls his eyes good-naturedly, but also quickly chances a glance at Nimble to see whether he appreciates Niall’s comments. At the end of the day, Nimble’s a hotheaded hippogriff, and while Niall clarified he loves him, he also said he had ‘quite the personality’, and well. He doesn’t always take too kindly to that.

‘Yeah yeah, laugh all you want. Listen, should I meet you at the hut? Maybe he and Buckbeak can spend some time together?’

Niall bites his lip unsurely.  “Sure. I know you said I shouldn’t tell anyone, but I kind of had to inform Hagrid anyways, because of the change in teaching plans. So I guess that works out perfectly then, yeah?”

‘s fine Nialler. I’ll see you there in a bit okay?’ Louis confirms, as he gathers up his backpack and slings it over his shoulder before climbing back on Nimbletail.

Niall waves at him and nods. “See ya there buddy!”

 

* * *

 

 

It’s a little odd flying over the very same area he used to spend so much time at, just walking around with his friends. The nostalgia hits him even harder when he lands right outside Hagrid’s hut. He takes a moment before getting off of Nimble to just take in his surroundings, and stare up at the beautiful castle that was his home for so many years.

He makes sure Nimble is secure in the paddock behind Hagrid’s hut, and has a quick look inside his cabin. Louis finds no one inside, which is what he had expected. If Hagrid had been home, he’d have been swept up in a hug even before he’d dismounted Nimble properly.

As he steps back outside, he’s suddenly hit by the full force of a binding spell – finding himself unable to move. He wants to talk, but his jaws are jammed together and there’s nothing he can do, except blink.

“Who are y- oh my god!” Someone gasps out loud, and then he’s suddenly collapsing on the floor, spell lifted from his body.

Louis frowns and checks his bag immediately, as well as his wand. Luckily nothing’s broken, allowing him to scramble off the ground with his wand upheld. He still hasn’t actually had the time to look at his assailant, still thrown off by the binding charm, so he figures he’s better safe than sorry.

‘What the fuck was that?’

“Louis Tomlinson – you’re – I’m so sorry, I thought you were an intruder!” An aghast, embarrassed reply rushes out of none other than Harry Styles.

Louis remembers him from school – the cherubic, curly-haired Slytherin teen two years below him, that had accidentally unearthed a Mandrake out of sheer enthusiasm only to have the entire class faint from its shrills. It had been the talk of Hogwarts for a while there, given that it had even put their teacher out of rotation for a while and all Herbology classes had been canceled.

He’s all grown up now, though.

Louis doesn’t remember his curls to have ever been that luscious. Doesn’t remember the almost unnaturally pink undertone of his lips, or those big glassy green eyes. He’s very certain Harry wasn’t that tall back at Hogwarts, but maybe Louis had already graduated by the time Harry hit his final growth spurt.

‘Styles – how did _you_ end up here?’

Harry frowns and shuffles his feet a little. “I work here. You, on the other hand, don’t really have any reason to be here.”

Instead of responding to Harry’s accusatory tone, Louis cocks his head as he appraises Harry. He only squirms a little under Louis’ gaze, and he thinks it might be because he detected an earlier tone of admiration to his voice.

Louis doesn’t like using his reputation and fame to his advantage, but if it can help him get out of this conversation unscathed – he will.

‘Huh. Who would’ve thought? I never imagined you as a professor. What is it you teach?’

The question seems to catch Harry off guard, as he seems to unconsciously fix his robes.

Clearly he’s relatively new then, attached to the uniform and all that. 

“Uh. Herbology?” It comes out as more of a question than an actual response, which makes Louis assume he’s joking.

‘That’s real funny, Harry. God I remember the Mandrake incident, that was fantastic.’

Apparently, Harry is very much not joking, because the startled look now changes into something a little more offended - frown back between his eyebrows as he juts out his chin defiantly.

“That happened when I was like, 12 or something. I actually got an Outstanding in Herbology – graduated top of my class even.”

The way in which he looks off to the side is all too much reminiscent of actual uncomfortable embarrassment and humiliation, and Louis doesn’t like it at all.

It’s then that he suddenly remembers his sister’s letter.  

‘Oh! I see, my sister mentioned you to me. Said you were about my age, and apparently all the talk of the Hogwarts’ student body. Probably the subject of many first, harmless crushes,’ Louis teases.

A blush spreads onto Harry’s face as he starts stammering. “I’m not – I – I don’t think I am?”

He kind of wants to tease him a bit more, liking the way Harry’s cheeks get all ruddy, but he’s interrupted by Niall coming to a halt on his broom right next to them.

 

“Merlin’s sake, you didn’t jinx Louis here, did you?!” Niall calls out, rushing towards Louis to check on him.

“There is such a thing as being overprotective, Harry. We’ve talked about this!”

Louis figures Harry has had enough scolding, so he comes to his defense.

‘To be fair, he did find me peeking into Hagrid’s hut.’

It doesn’t deter Niall in the slightest, who just shakes his head, but at least seems satisfied with the reassurance that Louis is fine.

“Well. What if had been a student just looking for Hagrid. We can’t have professors going around stunning people all over the place. Plus, if he truly were an uninvited trespasser, the wards would’ve kept him outside.”

Harry relents at that and pouts. ‘No-one said that we were receiving a guest. And I would know, I go to all of the staff meetings, unlike you.’

Louis can’t help but snort at that, as he gives Niall a cursory glance. “I go to the ones that matter, Harry. Besides, Lou is my _personal_ guest.”

‘Then why is there an unfamiliar, tame hippogriff standing right outside? When it’s prohibited to use hippogriffs for personal transportation purposes?’

He doesn’t remember Harry being so stubborn, but he guesses it’s the Slytherin in him.

“Because Niall asked me if I was willing to bring him along for a demonstration, when I’m here anyways. It’ll be good for Nimble as well, as much as he hates to admit it he likes being admired by children.”

There’s an indignant squawk from outside, and Louis can’t help but giggle at the threatening way in which Nimble kicks out his talon at Louis.

‘Besides, don’t pretend like you’re not happy to see Louis as if you didn’t just spend your last Galleons on getting an autographed copy of Louis’ book,’ Niall adds to Louis’ great delight, and Harry’s great dismay.

He immediately swivels back to wiggle his eyebrows at Harry. “Oh so you’re a proper fanboy, eh?”

‘No, I just – ugh fine. It’s just that it’s so impressive that you’ve built up your own dragon reserve in not even ten years,’ Harry gushes all of a sudden, seemingly almost angry at the way the words spill from his lips.

It’s still a little awkward for Louis to have to accept compliments like that, but he reckons he’s gotten much better at it over the years.

He just smiles and says thank you, and then tries to bring something or someone else to the center of attention.

Louis wants to say that he didn’t do it all by himself and that he got a lot of help from Greg. But then he decides that he _doesn’t_ want to talk about Greg at all, and he’d rather just talk to Harry a little bit more. He’s interesting and new, yet also not – but so different from what Louis remembers. It's intriguing to him.

 

He’s cute, too.

Though Louis suddenly remembers that this guy quite probably is his sisters’ professors and therefore incredibly off-limits.

“Thank you, Harry. You’re welcome to come visit the reserve, if you’d like?”

Harry lights up at that, and starts nodding eagerly until Niall reminds him that he’s got class in about 10 minutes, and should probably make his way over to the greenhouses.

He watches Harry go, then turns back to Niall who is giving him an unimpressed look.

“What?”

‘I knew this would happen. He’s completely your type. Tall, brown hair, lanky, loves a good pun, great with children.’

Louis would love to argue that Harry isn’t his type at all, but both Niall and him know it’s not true. He’d also like to say that he’s not ready for anything new, that he isn’t over Greg – but they also both know that’d be a lie as well. He stopped loving Greg like that a while ago, even if it still hurt when their partnership ended too.

“So? ‘S not like I’ll see him around, or anything. And he’s my sisters’ professor, I wouldn’t actually go after him. But I can still flirt a little.”

Niall rolls his eyes at Louis’ defense, but lets it slide knowing there’s no point arguing about it. ‘Yeah yeah, whatever you say. Now, are you okay staying here? Hagrid’s out of town for the next week, so you could just use the hut for the day?’

He isn’t quite sure how to tell Niall that he might have to stay longer, depending on what his sisters have got to tell him.

For now, it works – much better than the Shrieking Shack, or even sharing a room with Niall. He’s a lovely lad, but he also snores like no other.

“Sure – when is your class again? Around 2 yeah? I’ll make sure to have Nimble all ready for you by then,” Louis asks, already thinking of how much time he’ll need.

Nimble likes a good pampering session, and is much more agreeable after Louis’ made sure to fluff his feathers a bit – literally.

Niall nods longingly, as if he can’t wait to climb on Nimble himself. ‘Yup. I’ve got another class right now as well, but I assume you want to see your sisters – not entertain some Second Year students?’

Louis grimaces and shakes his head, then says goodbye to his friend.

He’s finally alone, on Hogwarts premises and excluding the minor hiccup involving Harry Styles, Louis thinks things are going pretty alright.

The next step would be to get his sisters to come find him, without him having to enter a castle that’s full of young wizards and witches that would recognize Louis on sight. So, his Patronus will have to do.

Louis reckons the twins don’t have classes, as it’s lunchtime. They’re probably still in their Common Room. He’s not entirely sure whether or not his Patronus will be able to get through to the Slytherin room, but it’ll have to try.

His heart hurts a little that his sisters aren’t all in his own house, Hufflepuff, but the Sorting Hat had decided differently. At least Lottie had also been sorted there. With their sister Fizzy in Ravenclaw, Louis has told his mum on various occasions that she’d better get the youngest twins primed for Gryffindor, just so she can say that she completed the set. She hadn’t found his joke half as funny as he did.

“Find Phoebe and Daisy, tell them to come to Hagrid’s hut,” he tells his Hippogriff Patronus, before turning towards Nimble.

‘Alright Nim, let’s get you all prettied up before your grand debut. And remember to treat all of the kids nicely, even if Fizzy is in the group and you want to just entertain her. You’re there for educational purposes.’

Nimbletail just blinks at him, eyes glistening in the sun. Louis relents.

‘Fine – and afterwards you get to fly all across the Black Lake with Buckbeak.’

Nimble folds out his wings and flaps twice to show his excitement. Louis can’t help but think he’s way too soft for him.

 

* * *

 

 

It doesn’t take the twins long to find him. Louis would worry about their education and scold them for potentially skipping class, but he’d be a huge hypocrite if he did. Besides, he’s far too happy to see their faces and hug them close for a little bit.

They’re inside Hagrid’s Hut, and Louis has helped them all to a manually brewed cup of tea – it’s the best way to make it – when he cuts to the chase.

“Alright ladies, I got Fizzy’s letter and you’ve gotten me all worried. I’m here, so tell me what’s going on.”

Phoebe and Daisy share a look, then start talking at high-speed over one another in a way that doesn’t actually clarify anything for Louis.

‘- and so that’s why we need your help!’ Daisy finishes first, but all Louis can do is blink at them.

“I truly hope you don’t expect me to have understood all of that. Now, go slow, take it from the top – please don’t speak at the same time.”

They roll their eyes at him in perfect synchronization, and it would scare Louis if he isn’t so used to it already. Then Phoebe starts talking, with Daisy filling in whenever necessary.

“We had our patrolling duties, and we were at the border with the Forbidden Forest,”

‘And no we didn’t go in there or anything,’

“when we saw something odd and went to go check it out.”

‘Turns out that it’s this sort of ball? It’s grey and looks like a fossil, but it just breathes life all over it, and we just _knew_ it’s some magical creature’s egg.’

“We would’ve brought it to Niall, but we know that technically we’re not allowed to bring in magical objects – and certainly no creatures.”

“And we know that Hogwarts doesn’t house dragons, and Niall doesn’t know how to handle dragons like you do, and what if it would die? It’s just a baby dragon trapped in a shell and we don’t even know how it got here,”

‘So the only option we had was keep it a secret and reach out to you while we kept the egg hidden in the Room of Requirement,’ Daisy finishes, with Phoebe firmly nodding right next to her.

 

Louis is only a little surprised by the fact the girls know of the Room of Requirement, and also that apparently Hogwarts had offered it up to them in the first place.

“An egg? A grey egg? Did it feel warm to the touch?”

‘Not really? I can’t really remember,’ the twins look at each other with matching frowns, but ultimately shake their heads.

There’s a small part of Louis that hopes it’s just an oddly-shaped rock.

He knows sometimes fossils are confused with dragon eggs, and he’d rather his sisters have picked up a fossil than an honest to god dragon baby.

They might have just smuggled a dragon into Hogwarts, and Louis isn’t really sure what’s more concerning to him at the moment. He knows there’s no use in scolding them over handling what potentially could be a dangerous dragon ready when it’s ready to hatch. But he also doesn’t want someone else without the proper experience and knowledge handling the dragon if it’s really there.

So the only thing he can do is try and sneak into Hogwarts and in the Room of Requirement, determine if the egg’s truly that of a dragon; and then either take it with him if it is, or leave unseen when it isn’t.

The problem lies in getting into Hogwarts unseen.

There’s a very high chance that without an official invitation of the Headmaster, Louis will set off a bunch of Charms that he’s managed to avoid by having Niall at least invite him into Hogsmeade and Hogwarts territory the very second he sets foot inside the actual castle. Besides, even if those weren’t in place, there is no way he’ll be able to pass by students without at least one of them recognizing him. It’s his own fault for writing a book about dragons, he thinks wryly.

It leaves him with only one option.

He’ll have to ask Niall to go to McGonagall and ask for permission. Which means he’ll probably get a chaperone appointed as well. It’s not ideal, but Louis reckons he’ll be able to find a way to escape or distract his companion – if only for a minute.

“Alright then, I’m going to need the Headmaster’s permission to go inside the Castle. So I can’t really do much until that’s been settled. Do you know where Ni – professor Horan is teaching at the moment?” Louis asks then, realizing halfway through that he should probably address his friend by his actual title.

The girls just roll their eyes at his attempt, ensuring Louis that Niall lets them call him by his first name all the time.

“Tell him I’d love to go and explore the Castle for a bit, maybe have a little moment in front of my trophy – and that I’d like for him to get me permission.”

He’d send his Patronus, but the downside of having a Hippogriff as a Patronus is that it’s both very big and also kind of recognizable.

Most journalists either refer to him as the Dauntless Dragonologist or the Humble Hippogriff Hexer nowadays, and Louis wishes they’d be just a tiny bit more original about it. It’s one thing to send it to his sisters when they’re up in their rooms, and they’ll be the only ones to see it - but it’s a different story sending it to a professor who’s teaching an entire class full of excitable teenagers. A private interruption seems much better suited for the occasion.

 

In the meantime, there isn't really much for Louis to do except sit and stare out of the window.

He isn't one for snooping in someone else's belongings, but he also doesn't much fancy being recognized outside.

Luckily, the window provides a perfect view on the greenhouses and the practice pitch a little further down. He snorts as he suddenly spots Harry stumbling as he leaves Greenhouse 2 with a slew of what seem to be first years eagerly following behind. They clearly aren’t sure whether it’s alright to laugh at their professor’s clumsiness or not, and instead start a domino trail of bumping into one another at the sudden interruption.

Louis wasn’t all that great at Herbology during his time at Hogwarts, but he has definitely read up on it since then. Now that he has a direct goal in mind whenever he’s doing research, it’s much easier to remain focused and he actually finds himself interested in all the benefits that plants can have.

Still, he reckons Harry knows a whole lot more than Louis does. It’s pretty nostalgic, seeing a bunch of eleven year olds discover all there is to magical plants and earth and soil. Makes him think of his own time spent in the greenhouses. Though to be fair, Louis mostly has vivid memories of hooking up there after curfew.

And of course Mandrake-gate. Louis can’t help but chuckle quietly as he thinks about it now, particularly the indignant look adult Harry had just given him just moments ago once he’d brought it up.

Which shouldn’t have been attractive at all – the deep-set frown and intense stare with a slightly slouched, pigeon-toed posture. But somehow, Louis can’t help but think of it as anything other than endearing.

Besides, the velvet green robes he’s wearing fit him _extremely_ well, Louis can see that even from all the way in Hagrid’s hut. And his hair seems quite fluffy and curly, which is something Louis prefers. It's even got the proper length to tug on.

Plus, he’s really good with the students. He can see the way in which they look at him in awe, and respond with as much excitement as Harry is showing with every demonstration he does.

He likes that – _really_ likes that.

 

Niall is most definitely right – Harry Styles is absolutely, 100% his type. But it’s fine. It’s not a big deal. He doesn’t even really _know_ Harry. Not this one, in any case – the all grown up, professor version of Harry that isn’t an awkward baby Slytherin with the bowl cut of untamable curls and chubby cheeks. Louis certainly isn’t the same reckless Hufflepuff as he was back then - who loved too fiercely way too fast, who thought there was no virtue in studying, and felt like he had everything to prove and nothing to lose.

Prioritising his family, however, is something that’s remained unchanged for Louis. And so he can stare and daydream about Harry all he wants, but he certainly won’t act on it.

 

“Oi, it’s time for class – are you ready? Is Nimble ready? Also, Minerva has said that you’re invited to stay until dinner. Though she wasn’t happy that I hadn’t notified her of your invitation earlier on.”

He’s shaken out of his Harry-induced fantasies by Niall’s Irish accent bellowing through the room.

‘Right, yeah. Nimble should be fine – let’s get going.’

They quickly walk down the path towards the paddock where he’d left Nimble earlier on to familiarize himself with Buckbeak. As Niall handles Buck, Louis manages to convince Nimble to follow him out of the paddock and into the much larger field used for Care of Magical Creatures classes. There’s a fence surrounding the area, but they both know it’s absolutely useless and really only there to give students’ a false sense of security.

Not that Nimble would ever try to escape, or attack anyone. He’s actually quite softhearted for a hippogriff. It’s why Louis likes him so much, probably.

“Alright, so you’re going to have some kids come up to you and they’ll go through the ritual and I’ll make sure they tell you how beautiful you are. But in return you’ll have to let them touch your sides. If you don’t appreciate how they treat you, bristle and scrape across the mud – I’ll get them to back off. Okay?”

Nimble blinks at Louis, but lowers his head just a tiny fraction – enough to tell Louis that he’s definitely understood and will behave. Besides, there’s a big reward waiting for him if he does; Louis’ quite certain that Nimble has smelled the box full of meat ages ago. He usually doesn’t feed Nimble ferrets, but it’s what Niall has provided so he’ll make do.

Louis can’t help but smile as he sees the fourth years enter – Fizzy amongst them in her blue-toned sweater and scarf. She gives him a small wave, then rolls her eyes as one of her friends nudges her side while frantically whispering in her ear. Clearly they hadn’t made the link yet between Louis Tomlinson and Félicité Tomlinson.

There’s a lot of murmuring, and then one kid is brave enough to shout out loud that he is “Louis Tomlinson, the dragon guy!”

Niall frowns, and suddenly Louis is reminded of the fact this is an educational atmosphere and Niall is teaching an actual class of teenagers. He needs to be professional, and defer to Niall.

“Five points from Gryffindor, we don’t yell at our guest lecturers Mister Thomas.” The boy looks positively stricken and sinks back a little.

“Now, as you can all see – you’re very much in luck, because Mister Tomlinson has decided to accept my invitation and provide you all with a guest lecture on hippogriffs.”

There’s some sighs of disappointment, and Louis can’t help but purse his lips in amusement as he tries to keep the mirth from spilling out of his mouth.

“Yes, hippogriffs. Still very exciting, and dangerous. Perhaps, if you’re all great students, and Mr Tomlinson is willing, you could ask some questions after class about his dragon reserve,” Niall amends, shooting Louis a questioning glance.

He nods his head - as long as he’ll have time to go and investigate the potential egg afterwards.

“Wonderful! Now, who can tell us something about hippogriffs?”

Fizzy immediately lifts her hand. “Anyone other than Miss Tomlinson?”

It’s awfully silent, so Niall lets out an exasperated sigh and motions for her to proceed. ‘Hippogriffs are classified as beasts by the Ministry of Magic, and therefore can be handled by experienced, competent wizards. They’re smart, tamable and trainable, but will always be very prim and proud.’

Niall nods, “Correct – 5 points to Ravenclaw, thank you Félicité. If you’d like to take over from here, Louis?”

Louis nods, straightens his back to make himself appear taller and more authoritative – then smiles at the students.

‘Yes, as my little sister just pointed out, hippogriffs are class XXX beasts. As you have all learned by now, this means you cannot and should not under any circumstance approach a hippogriff without proper preparation and instruction. Safety always comes first.’

He pauses then, trying to get a read on the students and how seriously they’re taking things. He understands that seeing not one, but two hippogriffs up close can be quite intimidating and distracting – but he needs them to focus.

As he lets his gaze glide over their faces, he’s pleasantly surprised when he spots Harry approaching the field. He must be interested to see what Louis is actually teaching them, as he stops to lean against a tree while observing the class. Once Harry’s settled, Louis continues.

‘I’ve brought Nimbletail here with me, who’s just turned four. Can anyone tell me the lifespan of a Hippogriff?’

A somewhat timid looking girl sporting a yellow blazer raises her hand. Niall raises his eyebrows, signaling her to speak. “My name’s Ramona, Ramona Redding, sir. Uh. Hippogriffs can get very old – though they are essentially mortal beings. They reach maturity at 2 years old, but I think I remember reading the oldest Hippogriff every recorded was about 74?”

‘Yes, absolutely, you’re right Miss Redding – thank you. Can you award her some points now, Niall?’ Louis jokes, and Niall shakes his head at him goodnaturedly before promising Hufflepuff an additional 5 points as well.

‘Nimbletail, as you can see, has got a very different colour pattern than Buckbeak. There are six distinct hair colours – some more prevalent than others. However, what you absolutely _must_ remember: Whenever you meet a Hippogriff, make sure to tell them they are the prettiest version you’ve ever seen.’

The class laughs, but upon seeing Louis’ serious expression, they quickly quiet down again. Louis tries not to focus too much on the dimples he’d seen for a short second as he’d looked over at Harry.

‘Hippogriffs are very proud, and they’ll want you to show your respect before approaching them. Remember that Hippogriffs are carnivorous, and while humans aren’t part of their usual diet – they can gravely injure you. So. Here’s what you’ll need to do.’

As Louis speaks on the proper etiquette that accompanies greeting a hippogriff, he makes sure to spell everything out in the air using _Flagrate_. It’s absolutely imperative they follow the rules, or Nimbletail won’t accept them in his personal space.

Which is his right. If he starts bristling too much, the students’ fun will stop – he emphasizes that as well. It’s their duty as wizards and witches to be responsible, and to actually take care of magical creatures.

‘They deserve to be treated with respect, and handled with care – just as you want to be treated. Keep that in mind – they’re not here on this earth for your entertainment or benefit.’

Only once he sees all students nod at that, does he signal for Nimbletail to take a step forward. Immediately, some of the teens take a timid step back.

‘Félicité, would you care to do the honours?’ He figures a familiar face will also help ease Nimbletail into it.

She smirks at him, and walks up to where Louis is standing – a safe distance from Nimble’s wings and talons. The latter crows happily upon Félicité’s advancement, but doesn’t make a move to approach.

Even though he clearly recognizes Fizzy, it’s been a while since they’ve spent actual time together. As such, it’s clear Nimble is expecting to go through the entire process just like the other students will have to do.

She bows deeply, but keeps her stare fixed firmly on Nimbletail’s blazing orange eyes – without blinking. Only once Nimble bends his knees to curtsy back, does Fizzy approach slowly.

Once she’s close enough, Nimble jolts forward and bucks his head into Fizzy’s shoulder.

“Oh hello! Hi Nim, ‘s been a while I know. My evil big brother keeps you away, I know.”

Louis rolls his eyes at her words, and chooses to ignore it as he starts instructing the next student on where they can safely touch Nimble.

 

Class runs smoothly, and he even manages to speak to Fizzy – albeit shortly, on how she’s doing and making sure to answer all the questions from her letter. He doesn’t mention what their baby sisters have found. It’s not really worth it to worry her over something that might as well be nothing at all.

Once all students have left, and Niall has gone with Buckbeak back to his paddock, Louis takes his time to groom Nimble’s wings a bit, plucking out loose feathers as he goes.

“That was quite impressive, you know,” Harry’s deep voice comes from behind him, taking him by surprise.

Louis tries to play off the hand that had grabbed his chest as a deliberate attempt to straighten out his tie, but he can tell by Harry’s smirk that he’s unsuccessful.

‘Merlin’s sake, Harry. I didn’t know you were still there.’

“I used to always be afraid of hippogriffs. They’re beautiful, but also incredibly intimidating.”

He seems to hesitate, as if he wants to say something else but decides against it. Louis can’t help but notice how Harry still seems to keep his distance, as if he’s a little scared what Nimbletail might do.

Not that he’s very interested – he’s in the middle of slurping up a ferret.

‘They like hearing that they’re beautiful,’ Louis prompts, which is immediately followed by Nimble nudging him, making Louis crack a smile.

 

‘Seriously, though. Do you want to meet Nimbletail? I swear he’s really a softie. Even more so than Buckbeak.’

Harry hesitates, gaze flickering between Louis’ face, Nimble’s wings and talons.

A pang of disappointment rushes through Louis that he hadn’t necessarily expected.

‘You don’t have to, if you’re scared. It’s fine. I know magical creatures aren’t for everybody. I’d rather you’re honest and stay safe.’

It’s just that Louis had lowkey been imagining what it’d be like to date Harry, and in order for that fantasy to be somewhat successful, Harry would embrace Louis’ love for magical creatures – ideally even share it.

“No,” there’s a determined glint in Harry’s eyes as he interrupts Louis’ ramble on safety protocols. “I’m just – okay fine I’m a little nervous, but I’m not _terrified_. I won’t freak out. I just – need a little… support.”

Now that Louis can give. Immediately, he walks over and hovers over Harry’s hand, asking for permission. Harry nods, even though his palm’s a little sweaty – must be the nerves. Louis can feel Nimble’s eyes on him, following his movements curiously. Louis’ only ever done this with his smallest siblings, back when Nimble was still a baby and his sisters hadn’t even been enrolled in Hogwarts yet.

‘Okay, now – blink once, then stare up at Nimble as we bow, don’t lose eye contact,’ Louis speaks softly, guiding Harry’s body as he bows with him, hands tightly clasped between their bodies.

Nimble tilts his head up, and Louis can feel Harry stiffen a bit. In order to calm him down, Louis squeezes his hand once to reassure him. He’s not sure if it works, but then Nimble’s bending his knees too as he bows back before gently walking towards them.

‘Hold out your hand,’ Louis murmurs, turning his body so he’s standing with his chest to Harry’s back, stretching out their arms together before letting go of Harry’s hand as it dangles mid-air.

Nimbletail’s eyes shoot from Harry’s hand to Louis, then back to Harry. He gets a little closer, extending his neck so he can inspect Harry’s hand up close.

Louis can tell by the tightness in Harry’s back that he’s not entirely calm, though he supposes he can’t quite expect an untrained wizard to enjoy being sniffed by a creature that’s half eagle half horse.

Just like that, Nimble has decided Harry’s hand is acceptable for petting and suddenly headbutts it, leaning his entire body into it.

‘He wants you to scratch him, just so –‘ Louis moves Harry’s hand up to what he knows is Nimble’s weak spot, and he can’t help but mirror the big grin that spreads out on Harry’s face as Nimble lets out a satisfied screech.

Harry turns his head back to look at Louis. It makes him realize suddenly how close they are, his eyes slipping down for an unguarded moment to study the way Harry’s lips stretch out into a smile.

“He’s beautiful.”

Louis nods – that he is. In a sudden impulse, he suddenly blurts out a question. ‘Do you want to go for a ride? I promised Nimble we’d fly over the Lake.’

‘I mean, if you don’t want to that’s fine, but I think it could be fun? I’d go with you of course,’ he tries to backtrack once it dawns on him what he’s asking of Harry – who was only hovering in Nimble’s vicinity just minutes ago.

To his surprise, Harry merely nods.

“Yeah, sure – sounds fun,” he says breathlessly.

 

* * *

 

 

Louis isn’t sure that he really understood what he was signing up for himself when he offered to ride Nimbletail with Harry. Even though Nimble is already an adult, and therefore quite big, there still seems to be _not enough space_. In order to keep Harry safe, and keep control over Nimbletail, Louis has no other choice but to scoot closer – chest pressed tightly to Harry’s back as he circles his waist so Louis can still hold onto Nimble’s neck and guide him.

He tries really hard not to think about the fact that he’s effectively caged Harry in. Harry with the nice curls and beautiful mossy eyes and who smells _really_ nice. Louis doesn’t want to commit it to memory, but he know it’s already too late, knows he’s going to try and brew Felix Felicis later on if only to see if it’d help him recreate it – bottle some of it up, as unethical as that might be.

 It’s exhilarating, then again, flying always is. Sharing the experience so intimately, though, as Nimble’s talons scratch the surface of the lake and water droplets jump up all around them with the light hitting it just right to form a rainbow, is truly magical.

They can’t really talk much, what with the wind being too loud and ringing in their ears – but Louis can hear the joyful laughter whenever it spills out of Harry’s mouth.

Once they’re back on solid ground, Harry immediately gives Louis a tight hug. “Thank you so much, that was amazing!”

Louis grins at the unadulterated jubilation that’s evident in Harry’s expression, and there’s a certain sense of relief at the knowledge that he can appreciate the wondrous magic of flying a hippogriff as majestic as Nimbletail.

“Seriously, thank you. For allowing me to have that experience. I don’t think it’s something I would’ve ever considered otherwise,” Harry adds earnestly as he shuffles back, letting Louis lead Nimbletail towards the paddock where Buckbeak is quietly snoring off in his nest.

‘You’re welcome, Hazza.’

The nickname escapes him before he even realizes, but Harry doesn’t seem too fussed, so he doesn’t say anything else as he gets Nimble situated.

 

Buckbeak’s nest reminds him of the real reason he’s here – and it’s not to flirt with his sisters’ professor. It’s to solve the mystery surrounding this damned egg. If only it would be a hippogriff’s egg. Still quite rare, and vulnerable, and in need of proper caretaking – but definitely not as big a deal as a dragon’s egg.

Louis doesn’t think it’s a hippogriff’s egg though.

“Are you heading towards the castle? I uh – I heard McGonagall say that we’d have a guest for supper.”

He smirks at Harry’s expression, who’s obviously not too happy about his own admittance of eavesdropping on McGonagall – and on calling her McGonagall when he’s part of the staff now.

‘You heard Minerva talking about me, hm?’

“Oh shut up. You can walk by yourself then,” Harry responds to Louis’ wiggling eyebrows.

He lets out a laugh, then joins Harry on the trek to Hogwarts. They discuss Harry’s family for a bit, as Louis remembers Gemma much more clearly than Harry from his time in school. Apparently she’s gone on to study Muggles for the Ministry, but is living up in Manchester rather than London.

Louis can relate to Harry when he says he misses her, even though they talk quite often. He resolves to spend more time with his family – whether or not they’ve found a dragon egg for him to inspect.

Clearly, Louis has made a grave error in his eagerness to spending just a little more time with Harry. He only realizes as much when they enter the castle and there’s an entire mass of 11-16 year olds that meet him with wide-eyed stares.

“That’s – it’s Louis TOMLINSON!”

In that moment, Louis really hates the anti-disapparition jinx. There’s nothing he can do but smile and wave, whilst trying to make his way to where he needs to go. Which is up the stairs – any stairs really at this point.

When he looks over at Harry, he can see him mouthing him an apology – looking rather chastised and taken aback by the reaction of the student body. This is why Louis preferred just staying and doing research on his beloved dragons, and occasionally hang out with his friends.

 

“Nothing to see here, run along everyone – don’t be late for class,” the unmistakable voice of Minerva McGonagall reaches him over the crowd, and just like that a path is cleared towards the staircase.

“Mr Styles – do you not have a class to teach in Greenhouse 4? Or have you too given up on your educational duties in favour of staring at Mr Tomlinson’s – and I quote here, “life-altering cheekbones”?”

Louis can’t help but snort at that, particularly at the way it leaves Harry with red cheeks as he stutters out an apology and rushes back outside. Minerva then turns to narrow her eyes as she takes Louis in – it’s just as unnerving now as it was all those years ago.

“Mr Tomlinson. It’s been a while. One can only wonder why you’d be so secretive over your visit to Hogwarts,” she trails off.

He knows she’s testing him, trying to get him to tell her the truth. Which, he will absolutely tell her if he does happen to find a dragon’s egg, he’s not about to smuggle a dragon’s egg out of Hogwarts right from under McGonagall’s nose.

He shrugs.

‘Just didn’t want to cause a fuss, ‘s all. I’m gonna go and look at the Trophy Room.’

She stares at him, but eventually nods and steps aside to let him walk off.

 

When Louis finally manages to reach the seventh floor, after being held up by both twisting staircases and some eager students, he immediately spots his twin sisters lingering around. 

He internally rolls his eyes at their lack of subtlety, but since there doesn’t seem to be anyone around, he’ll let it slide.

“Finally! You’re lucky this is our study hour and we were able to get ourselves kicked out of the library by Ms Pince,” Phoebe sighs dramatically, but does absolutely nothing to hide the shit-eating grin she’s sporting.

‘Oh how brave  - _you_ should be lucky that I won’t tell mum you said that. Now, let’s go,’ he retorts pointedly. He’d rather solve this sooner than later.

Daisy jumps up and starts walking up and down the corridor as Louis and Phoebe make sure to keep an eye on their surroundings. It doesn’t take long for the door to appear, and just like that Louis is walking into an otherwise very nondescript room if it weren’t for the egg that’s lying on a velvet teal pillow in the middle of it all.

So much for his sisters' interpretation of an egg incubator. Clearly his sisters conjured up this room, that much is obvious – they like their velvet.

Nevertheless, he’s not there to admire their subconscious decorating skills.

Louis approaches the egg carefully, his sisters following from a distance. There’s a certain sense of excitement mixed in with dread that keeps spinning more and more out of control as he gets closer to the egg.

Because that is most definitely not a fossil. And it’s _definitely_ not from a hippogriff. That is a real egg, from a real dragon – a dragon that’s supposedly close to extinction and hasn’t been spotted in the UK in decades.

It’s an Antipodean Opal-Eye dragon’s egg, and Louis is 100% certain it’s still alive as he can feel the heat radiating off of it.

In fact, he’d estimate the egg’s going to hatch. Soon. Real soon. 

Profanities slip past his lips as he turns to look at his sisters.

He doesn’t know what to do. He would put the egg in his backpack, but it’s clear that the baby is unstable as is, and he wouldn’t want to upset them. He could try and speed up the hatching process at least, but he’d need some Fire Seed Bushes to make that happen – and he doesn’t have those on hand.

‘Are you alright, Lou?’

He doesn't want to worry his sisters any more then necessary, but he can't exactly lie to them either.

“Yeah. Fine. Would you girls like to hear the good new, or the bad news first?” He grimaces, keeping his eyes glued to the egg.

Louis can feel his heart beat loudly in his chest from the adrenalin that’s coursing through his veins. What are they going to do?

Phoebe and Daisy share a curious look, then take a step closer to properly observe the egg.

‘Good news?’

“The good, _exciting_ news is that this is most definitely not an egg-shaped rock,” he pauses, then clears his throat.

“The _bad_ news is that this is most definitely an extremely, incredibly rare and very much illegal dragon baby that’s ready to hatch in the coming days.”

His sisters squeal, but immediately quiet down once Louis glares at them.

They probably don’t really understand the implications, but Louis _does_ and he’s worried.

“Listen. You can’t tell anyone about this. Let me try and figure this out before I leave again tonight. Hopefully with this one,” he motions for the egg. Phoebe and Daisy nod in perfect sync, which would probably freak Louis out if he hadn’t grown up with them being scarily synchronized at all times.

Louis probably should consult someone else. Except he’s the only dragon expert around, and as of a month ago the sole director of the reserve up north. He lets out a humorless laugh, as he realizes the only person he can consult is himself.

‘Yeah, we’ve kept quiet this long – one more day will be fine, have some faith in us. Do we get to name her?’

He turns and herds his sisters back towards the door that’ll lead them back onto the seventh floor hallway. “She?”

‘Yes, _she_. Well?’ Phoebe prods impatiently.

Their excitement is a welcome distraction from his worries, so he shrugs instead, indulging them in their little fantasy.

“If she ends up in my care, then you can give her a name. Now, off you go to your final classes. I’ll see you in the Great Hall.”

They part ways outside the Room of Requirement, and Louis decides he’ll have to try and contact Greg.

Even though he’s going to start with the Ministry soon, Louis trusts him regardless. He could try phoning him, one of the Muggle gadgets that has finally made its way into the Wizarding World thankfully, but Greg’s notoriously anti-technology. His Patronus will have to do.

‘Tell Greg I need to discuss an urgent matter with him, that I’m in Hogwarts and need advice. Personal, _private_ advice.’

 

As Louis finishes instructing his corporeal Patronus, he starts to move back towards the stairs when Harry suddenly appears out of nowhere – frown present on his face.

He missteps and has to right himself by gripping onto the banister, which at least results in the firm glare slipping off of Harry’s face for a second.

‘Who’s Greg, and why are you on the seventh floor?’

“Is eavesdropping a habit of yours then,” Louis muses, leveling Harry with a stare himself. “By Merlin, you’re nosy.”

Harry has the decency to look contrite for a moment, but pushes on anyways. ‘Well, as a staff member of Hogwarts it’s my right to wander around here. I can’t help but overhear you messaging someone else, and then worry about how this could possibly endanger Hogwarts’ safety.’

Louis rolls his eyes, still somewhat endeared by Harry’s commitment to protecting Hogwarts – as unnecessary as it is these days.

“No need to be so paranoid, it’s just Greg.”

‘Greg who?’ Harry asks, and Louis raises an eyebrow.

“Why are you so invested? Are you jealous or something?”  

Harry huffs, then looks away angrily as one of the paintings in their hall suddenly starts chuckling.

Louis decides to save him from his misery, and shushes the painting – then moves towards Harry.

“Harry, don’t worry, I was just joking. But just to assuage your worries; Greg’s my ex. Ex-boyfriend, but also ex-colleague. I just want his advice on something work-related, and he’s the only person that I can think of that’d be able to help me. And if I didn’t say I’m here, he’d probably apparate to my apartment and, well, I’m not there – am I?”

It’s a bit of a fib, but as cute as he finds Harry, it’s clear his loyalties lie very much with Hogwarts.

He doesn’t _know_ Louis, and Louis doesn’t know Harry either. He’s not going to let a silly crush affect this baby dragon’s safety.

But. Maybe – maybe Harry can help him, unknowingly so.

Harry deflates at Louis’ answer, suddenly very much interested in his own boots as he fiddles with the frayed edges of his robe’s sleeves. ‘I’m sorry, Louis. I’m not sure what’s got me so on edge today, should probably ask Sybil whether the stars are wrongly aligned for me at the moment. There is just something about you that throws me off. But you’ve been nothing but nice to me. Even took me on a Hippogriff ride, and you’re also quite beautiful, which is distracting, and – oh. I wasn’t supposed to say that out loud. Oh Merlin, I’m so sorry.’

Louis can’t help but laugh at his rambling, warmth spreading through his chest at the accidental compliment.

“It’s alright – we all have our days. You only just started this year, yeah? I completely understand you wanting to be extra protective and prove yourself to the students at the school. Teaching at Hogwarts is an honour – you feel responsible. Also please don’t worry. I’m not going to complain about a pretty man like yourself complimenting me.”

He knows he shouldn’t indulge, but a little flirting - if only to relieve some of the tension and to distract himself - should be harmless.

A blush appears on Harry’s cheeks at Louis’ words, then seems to find his footing again in the conversation. ‘Alright then. Uh. Where were you headed then?’

“Actually, I was looking for you. Was wondering if you could tell me more about the plants you store here at Hogwarts.”

It feels a bit icky, asking like this. Louis genuinely does like Harry and would want to know more about him and his work, but right now it also serves as the perfect distraction that could also prove to be incredibly valuable.

If there is any Fireseed to be found at Hogwarts, Harry will know.

 

* * *

 

 

Turns out that there definitely is Fireseed at Hogwarts – a lot of it, even.

Louis asks Harry if he can have some to take with him to the reserve, which is partially true. He could really use it, not just for whenever they get to take care of another illegal dragon egg, but also in case the reserve’s repopulation program gets approved by the Ministry.

“You’re staying for dinner, yes?” Harry checks, after cutting some Fireseed and handing it to Louis. He nods in return, making sure he is safely stuffing it away in the non-extendable part of his backpack – he doesn’t want to run the risk of losing it.

‘Sure am, I’ve still got to go polish up the Quidditch trophy I won Hufflepuff back in my 5th year afterwards.’

Harry laughs at that, raking a hand through his unruly curls as he goes about cleaning up his tools.

They’ve gotten more springier throughout the day, and Louis wishes he could say that he hadn’t noticed, that he didn’t care about the state of Harry’s curls at all. Because he shouldn’t. But he finds that he's very much invested in them. 

“I remember that – think I even wore a yellow sweater to the match. Wasn’t much appreciated by my classmates, understandably so.” He pauses then, and huffs incredulously. “God, I used to have such a major crush on you, you know?”

That’s brand new information to Louis.

‘Really?’

Harry nods. “Yes, it was embarrassing – could just sit in the library and like, stare at you. Used to just kind of admire what you were like.”

There’s a part of Louis that really wants Harry to follow that up with saying he _still_ has a crush on Louis – especially after he said that he found Louis beautiful. But he also knows that finding someone pretty isn’t the same as feeling attracted to them. Besides; he can’t. They can’t. Even if Harry was interested in him like that, the way Louis begrudgingly admits he is in Harry – it wouldn’t work.

‘Wish I’d known,’ Louis mutters under his breath. He wishes he would’ve taken more notice of Harry during their shared time in school. He would’ve liked to have known younger Harry.

Harry makes a face and ducks his head in embarrassment, before starting their trek back to Hogwarts. ‘I think it’s best for both of us that you didn’t. I was an awkward, pudgy, pimpl-y teenager. Not much fun. Very anxious. Obsessed with getting the right grades, but then I had a black-out during my OWLs. Spent a good day crying in the bathroom stalls, getting comforted by Moaning Myrtle.' 

Louis winces. “Did you get to resit your exam? I mean, you clearly didn’t fuck up that bad if you ended up teaching here, though. You know, teaching at Hogwarts used to be my main ambition,” Louis confesses.

That had been before he’d gotten in touch with Charlie. One conversation, and Louis had been absolutely besotted with dragons. He’d met Greg in his introductory course in university , and once they’d gotten their degrees, they’d started their own reserve.

‘Yeah, everyone that year got the opportunity to redo one exam. Was enough to get me into training with Longbottom.’

They’re nearing the Great Hall’s entrance now, and Louis immediately feels his nerves amplify.

He’s worried about the little baby dragon stuck in the Room of Requirement, without proper warming elements and care. But he also doesn’t want to yet leave Harry – isn’t done learning about him and his life.

‘Did you, uh, did you want to sit with me? At the table? Pretty sure Minerva will have set you up with the staff,’ Harry suddenly asks, breaking Louis out of his inner turmoil as they linger in front of the heavy doors.

He finds himself smiling back, “where else would I sit, hm, curly?”

It’s fine. Louis will just slip out mid-way through dinner. It’ll be the perfect time – everyone will be busy with their food, and he can easily sneak in and out. Once he’s got the baby dragon secured, he’ll inform McGonagall, and then he can be and the dragon can be on their merry way.

A foolproof plan.

 

* * *

 

 

Except it’s not a foolproof plan at all.

The first part goes fine – Louis slips away from his spot right next to Harry with ease. Even though he had quite enjoyed feeling the press of Harry’s thigh against his own, he doesn’t want to dwell on that too much.

He’d made his way back to the Room of Requirement, twins in tow as they’d sneaked away not long after, and they had set up in the room. He’d told them to leave, just in case things would go awry. However, the unique Tomlinson stubbornness trait had meant they were refusing to go. Lingering in front of the Room of Requirement was obviously not an option either, so instead Louis had ended up setting up a Protection Charm.  

He quickly goes to work to build a little nest of Fireseed Bushes, then sets it aflame. The heat and magical properties of the plant together can trigger a dragon’s egg to hatch within minutes, and given that the egg had been showing signs of instability, Louis is pretty sure it’ll happen any second now.

Except the moment that he can see the first deep cracks appear in the egg, there’s a rush of magic as Greg’s corporeal Patronus reaches him. It starts talking, and while Louis is trying his best to listen to what he’s saying (something about him not condoning any illegal acts unless absolutely necessary), he can’t help but fixate on the way the cracks are quickly growing.

Greg always did have bad timing.

There’s a pop, and then there’s a tiny wing breaking its way through the cracked shell, followed soon by an identical second wing.

They’re a pale blue, and Louis is in love.

The little creature is absolutely perfect as it makes its way out of the shell, cawing at the blistering heat of the burning nest.

Louis hasn’t ever seen an Opaleye up close – they’re practically believed to be extinct, bar a few that live in extreme seclusion in New Zealand – but he think they might be the most beautiful species.

The baby might appear to be blue, but upon closer inspection, Louis can clearly see the pale glistening of its pearl-like scales.

“Merlin’s beard,” he can’t help but whisper.

He kind of feels like weeping, but he knows that would only confuse his little sisters as well as the little baby that’s now staring up at him with wide, rainbow-colored eyes. He’s read about their multi-coloured eyes, but he’d always assumed they meant heterochromia – not _actual_ rainbow irises.

Another tiny caw is followed by a cough, as the baby exhales a puff of smoke. Louis reaches out his hand tentatively, palm facing upwards as he allows the Opaleye to climb on top of his hand. He murmurs a quick _Aguamenti_ , extinguishing the fire, before turning towards his sisters.

“She’s beautiful!” They exclaim, and Louis can do nothing else but nod – smiling widely as he feels the tiny pinpricks of the baby dragon’s paws digging into his skin. They’re clearly tired from breaking out of their shell, because they’ve curled up into a small ball, eyes closed again as they settle into Louis’ hand.

“And so tiny,” Daisy adds. “Will she stay that tiny?”

Louis grins, wants to tell them all about how big Opaleyes can get, and that they won’t be able to tell for a long while whether the baby is a he or she.

But before Louis can respond, there’s a loud knocking on the door.

 

His blood runs cold.

There’s nowhere they can go, nothing they can do as the doorknob twists and the door opens, revealing none other than Harry.

His face falls immediately the moment he spots the creature in Louis’ hands, hurt settling into his features as he turns right back around.

“Harry, wait! Don’t just leave,” he exclaims in a desperate attempt to stop him. He doesn’t actually expect Harry to twist back and glare at him expectantly.

‘Well? What is it that you want to say to me? I asked you, didn’t I? I asked you multiple times what you were here for – and you _lied_ to me. You _lied_ , you _stole_ Fireseed, don’t think I don’t recognize that smell, and you made your baby sisters complicit in whatever this is, but it’s definitely illegal!’

Louis knows it looks bad, knows that technically there isn’t anything he can say to convince Harry otherwise, because it _is_ illegal to house a dragon or even possess a dragon’s egg – let alone one of such an endangered species.

“Don’t blame our brother! He only came here because we asked him to. We found it, right at the border with the Forbidden Forest. He just wanted to help us,” Phoebe speaks up defiantly, crossing her arms in an attempt to be intimidating as she stares Harry down.

It’s quite impressive of a 12 year old, and Louis would laugh at the serious frown on her face if they weren’t in the situation that they’re in.

‘You two should leave, you’re not supposed to be in here at all – and definitely not when you’re sharing this space with such a dangerous creature,’ Harry snaps and points at the door. When they don’t budge, he groans in frustration.

‘I’m serious. Leave, or you both get detention for the rest of the term and you’re losing your House 100 points each.’

“Now don’t be mean, Harry,” Louis interrupts, then motions for his sisters to leave. They harrumph, but go without complaints, gazes lingering on the creature in his hands, snoring away completely unawares.

‘How could you be so irresponsible?! They’re your baby sisters,’ Harry snarls immediately with disapproving eyes. ‘I can’t _believe_ I trusted you, instead of my gut. I knew it. Thank god I saw a white flash of a Patronus head this way.’

“Did you not listen to one word my sisters just said? Would you just listen to me?!” Louis interrupts him. “They found this egg and hid it, then asked me to come to check it out. I didn’t want to worry anyone if there was no need, so I had to come up with a reason to be here. Yes, I lied to you when I asked for Fireseed in such a rush, and I’m sorry – but at that point I didn’t even know if this dragon would survive at all. I didn’t want to risk an unstable egg, and certainly not have a dragon be born in Hogwarts without anyone present who knows how to deal with them.”

Harry rolls his eyes in irritation. ‘So what were you planning on doing afterwards then, huh? Get your buddy Greg involved? I went outside because I was concerned you were taking so long, and because I thought maybe I could use the opportunity to talk to you alone, ask you on a date. I can’t believe I’m that naïve.’

He sounds so disappointed and disgusted with himself, it makes Louis’ heart crumple a little.

While he hates seeing Harry like that, it also hurts to be looked at with contempt – especially when Louis feels it’s a bit misplaced.

“I was going to inform McGonagall, ask her if the reserve could get custody over this orphaned dragon. Yeah, maybe I should’ve immediately informed someone, but what if this wasn’t a dragon, what if she was already dead? I didn’t know what I would find here. A castle like this is no place for a dragon, and certainly not one as rare as this one. She deserves all the space and freedom she needs to thrive. Opaleyes aren’t aggressive at all, but they still deserve their peace and quiet. I’m _glad_ my sisters spotted her and took her in. She would’ve died out there, or she would’ve been sold on the black market, or worse - killed by poachers. I’m _proud_ of them.”

He’s breathing heavily once he’s finished his rant, and apparently his new baby doesn’t approve of the way Louis tends to gesticulate wildly as he talks. There’s a deeply disgruntled breath of fire that escapes her, tiny eyes opening only to glare at Louis.

Louis could cry out of sheer emotional exhaustion.

He apologizes to Opal, as he’s already started calling her in his head, before softly rubbing the sensitive scales between her wings at the bottom of her neck.

A small smile makes its way to Louis’ face as she stretches her wings for him, before letting her eyes flutter close once more in satisfaction.

 

‘She, she likes that,’ Harry stammers out loud. It makes Louis look up, and he fully expects to be met with the same snide look. Instead, he finds something akin to wonder on his face.

“Yeah. It’s like – dogs and cats also have scratch spots.”

Harry nods slowly, as if he’s just experienced an epiphany. ‘I never realized they’re – that dragons could be like that, too.’

Louis can’t help but snort, though he tries to be mindful of Opal. “What, tiny?”

Harry shakes his head at that, slowly inching closer to get a better look. ‘Cute. Helpless. Just another magical creature. Not deadly or deadly aggressive, mostly.’

He pauses then, before staring back up at Louis, understanding settling onto his face. ‘She needs you, doesn’t she?’

Louis doesn’t answer.

‘You love her like she’s your baby. You look at her the same way you look at Nimbletail,’ Harry states.

He’s right. Of course he’s right. There’s a reason Louis is good with dragons. It’s because he loves them. Loves them for who they are and respects their needs. He cares for them.

“She’s just a baby, Harry. She’s going to need a safe space, a little guidance to grow up,” he pleads, though he’s not even sure what he’s pleading for.

Still, Harry nods silently.

‘I get it now, I think. I didn’t get it. Before. I’m sorry. I’m not angry. Promise,’ he whispers, gaze flickering from Louis to Opal and back again.

A self-deprecating smile makes its way onto his face as Louis doesn’t respond. ‘I really mucked this up, didn’t I?’

“I don’t know,” Louis muses. “Not as much as Greg with his terrible timing, ratting me out, getting you angry, thinking I’ve got some weird illicit dragon trade set up in Hogwarts’ Room of Requirement.”

Harry honks out a laugh, then immediately covers his mouth as they both stop and stare to look at Opal. She doesn’t seem too annoyed, as she bristles a bit but continues with her nap otherwise undisturbed.

‘She’s so pretty.’

Louis nods, grinning at Harry’s clear amazement. “Me sisters want to name her, but I’ve already been thinking of her as Opal.”

‘Opal the Opaleye? I think you should let your sisters name her,’ Harry teases, and Louis pouts.

“I thought you were trying to get in my good graces again,” he feigns a whine, making Harry giggle.

They’re quiet then, both observing all the tiny details of Opal, before Louis decides they really should get going. He’ll have some groveling and explaining to do with McGonagall either way that he’s not looking forward to very much.

Harry walks with him making sure to mask Opal’s existence from the students they encounter on their way to Minerva’s office.

His sisters are nowhere to be seen, which is fine by him. He’ll try to keep them out of this, anyways.

‘Do you need me to go with you?’ Harry asks, once they’re outside the stone passageway. Louis shakes his head. He’ll have to do this on his own.

‘Would it – would it be okay if I’d come to visit? At your reserve? To see the dragons?’

Louis gives him a look.

‘Okay fine, I’d mostly come to see you. But also because I genuinely want to know the dragon part of you too. If there’s any part of you that thinks you could like me back, that is. Which – after my behavior today – is probably very unlikely.’

He pretends to think for a bit, if only to make Harry sweat a little, before finally nodding.

“Don’t tell Niall, but aside from this tiny miracle and getting to see my sisters, the most magical part of my day was getting to see you.”

His statement might be a little soppy, but it’s the truth.

Besides, Louis would say it over and over again if it manages to make Harry’s dimples appear. They’re little craters of happiness.

 

“But – I don’t want this to affect my sisters.” Harry’s dimples fade a little, so Louis rushes to explain himself. “I like you, Harry, I do. And if given enough time, I can see myself falling for you – hard. But I can’t date you when you’re my sisters’ professor. I’m pretty sure that’s unethical.”

Harry’s frown deepens, and he’s about to say something when a different voice cuts in.

‘It’s not,’ Minerva McGonagall glances at the baby dragon in Louis’ hands, then looks back up at Louis.

‘There are no rules that stipulate anything of the sorts, Mr Tomlinson. Besides, Hogwarts is a highly esteemed educational institute. It pains me to hear you level an accusation of favoritism against Hogwarts. After the War, many Charms were set up to protect students from unfair and unjust treatment. Besides, Mr Styles is a professional, isn’t he? I dare hope not you were suggesting we would hire someone that would allow personal matters to affect their teaching.’

Louis feels a _lot_ like a chastised child in that moment, but he could swear he sees her wink at Harry.

“Right,” he stammers out eventually, a little confused if she even expects him to respond.

She just raises her eyebrows at him, then continues speaking. ‘Now. If everything’s settled, let’s go up to my office and discuss the future of the stowaway in your arms.’

 

* * *

 

 

Louis isn’t quite sure whether McGonagall approves of his actions or not, but the fact of the matter is that Opal is going home with him.

Minerva doesn’t even blink as she speaks only of a baby dragon that was found on Hogwarts’ terrain – without any sign of how it got there. She reiterates how incredibly generous and gracious it was of Louis to show up at such short notice to identify the creature and to offer it residence at his reserve.

She writes the scrolls with such utter conviction and authority, that it almost makes Louis wonder about his own version of events.

As she sees him out, she gives his arm a short squeeze and her eyes twinkle as she bids him goodbye. ‘See you in December, Mister Tomlinson. Take a chance.’

He doesn’t really get it, doesn’t get what December has go to do with anything, but he lets it slide.

Harry’s still outside waiting for him, though Niall has apparently joined him. His jaw drops as he catches sight of the baby dragon who’s securely in a cage for now, nibbling on some kibble that McGonagall unexplainedly had lying around.

Louis didn’t want to ask too many questions.

“Merlin’s beard! So that was the reason why you suddenly accepted my invitation all stealth-like.”

Louis grins and nods. ‘Yeah. Listen, I would love to get this one settled in before it’s too dark – so I’m going to head out soon with Nimble. I’m just going to quickly say goodbye to my sisters and then I’ll meet you at the Hut, alright?’

Before he can address Harry separately, the man quickly nods back. “Yes, see you there Lou.”

It takes Louis by surprise how much he _isn’t_ taken by surprise by Harry calling him Lou. He likes it, when it’s coming from him.

So he doesn’t argue, just gives Harry a private smile.

 

He places Opal securely in his backpack, then heads out to find his sisters.

Fizzy demands to have a look at the tiny dragon, having completely missed all of the commotion, while the twins make him promise that they’ll get to rename Opal once their first holiday hits and they get to visit home for a bit. He acquiesces in the end, then gives them all big hugs before making his way back to the hut, Niall having brought Nimble back out from his paddock – ready for take-off.

Harry’s standing off to the side looking a little out of place, even though he’s got a determined expression on his face.

“So, Harry told me he was an ass all day. I should probably tell you it's withdrawal. I might’ve slipped him some Felix Felicis yesterday – there was a quidditch tournament between staff, don’t even ask,” Niall grumbles.

He must’ve lost if he’s still crabby about it, and the grumpy pout on his face is so achingly familiar that Louis finds himself hugging Niall tightly.

‘You competitive little leprechaun, I take it he’s not very good at sports?’

Niall looks up at the sky and sighs as he lets go of Louis.

“Absolutely hopeless.” Then he smirks, and wiggles his eyebrows. “But I’ve seen him – I think he’d be _very_ skilled in other areas, if you know what I mean.”

He blinks at Niall, wondering if he just heard him correctly. His ears feel a little warm at the implication.

‘Niall!’ He admonishes, even though he know it’s no use. He just gives him a cheeky smile, then nudges Louis towards Harry.

“Go!”

 

Sheepisly, Louis finds himself in front of Harry while Niall’s cackles fade into the background.

Harry gives him a small smile, shuffling his feet as if he’s not entirely sure of what he’s supposed to do next.

‘Hi,’ Louis starts, suddenly feeling a bit like sniggering at the absurdity of it all. He has a dragon in his backpack, a tiny baby dragon. And he’s harboring a huge crush on Harry in his heart.

Harry who was paranoid of danger because of the Felix Felicis comedown, that took a hippogriff ride with Louis. That gets the beauty of dragons, or at least is willing to look at them through Louis’ eyes.

It’s fine.

Everything’s fine.

“Hi,” Harry’s smile widens a bit. It turns a bit lopsided, but it just makes Louis’ cheeks hurt from smiling back just as widely.

“I eh – I was wondering, if maybe what McGo- Minerva, what Minerva said. If it’d changed your mind?”

It’s funny, Harry is decidedly taller than Louis – though not by much, but in that moment he seems to make himself as small as possible; as if he’s afraid to hear the answer.

Louis looks down, stares at the ground for a beat or two.

‘What if it hasn’t?’ Louis asks softly.

 

He needs to know, needs that final push to see how committed, how loyal Harry is to the idea of them spending more time together.  

“Then I’d still like to be your friend. I’d like to sit and admire a little bit more of what you’re like now. I’d hope that with time, you’d change your mind, but if you wouldn’t – then, yeah. I’d still like to be your friend.” Harry sounds very sure of himself. A little bit resigned, but sure nonetheless.

‘I think – I think that I’d like to try. I can’t promise you much. With Greg gone I’m on me own now as director of the reserve, and I’ve got a sick dragon as well as this tiny baby, and I’m working on getting our repopulation program cleared by the Ministry, and I’ve got my family, and -’

Louis doesn’t get to finish all the caveats he wants Harry to know about, because suddenly there are pink, plush lips being pressed to his own and it’s really nice.

He’s just about to close his eyes and really lean into it all, maybe nip at Harry’s lips a bit – explore more than just the soft feel of lips on lips, when Harry abruptly pulls away wide-eyed.

“I’m sorry – I’m sorry, I got excited and you were rambling and I wanted to shut you up, but I should’ve asked and –“

Louis laughs, then does the exact same thing as Harry did just moments before by firmly pushing his mouth against Harry’s.

‘Shut up, and just kiss me,’ he murmurs in between pecks. He can’t keep himself from smiling into the kiss, and he pulls away laughing when their teeth accidentally clink together.

Nimbletail’s impatient screech is what fully breaks them apart.

“I’ll - I’ll talk to you later, yeah?”

Louis nods dumbly, then waves one more time before he’s climbing onto Nimbletail and taking off towards the Hogsmeade borders.

He smiles the entire way home. 

 


	3. Epilogue

 

**Epilogue**

 

“Are you sure it’s alright? I don’t want Dani to feel abandoned,” Harry frets, looking back longingly at the landing where Louis’ just returned from.

‘Yes, she’s fine,’ Louis laughs. ‘She’ll be pretty exhausted from our training session, so I reckon she’ll just fall asleep up in her nest. Won’t see her until lunchtime tomorrow, probably.’

Harry frowns, secretly disappointed that he still hasn’t been able to see Daenerys – his sisters had been obsessed ever since they’d heard there was a ‘dragon lady’ in the Muggle series – in her current grown form.

It’d been a couple of months, in which they’d managed to go on a couple of dates and had even spent some weekends together in Louis’ apartment in Muggle London.

This felt far more serious though, as Harry had asked Louis to come with him – as his boyfriend – to the Yule Ball.

Louis hadn’t been too sure at first. Not about the boyfriend part, that part was easy.

The Yule Ball commitment had taken some convincing though. Being with Harry was easy, but they hadn’t really spent much time being together, out in public, with _friends_. Walking around in London felt decidedly different than dancing with Harry in front of his little sisters, his friends, and some of his old teachers.

Besides, the Yule Ball being right before Christmas meant that he’d be very busy with work anyways, as some of the reserve’s employees would inevitably want to take time off. Add to that Louis’ own birthday, where Louis was definitely planning on bringing Harry round his family home, and the chaos was complete.

Harry had said he understood, that it was fine – but then Louis had suddenly remembered Minerva’s words and he’d found himself saying ‘yes’ nevertheless.

Which is why it’s somewhat ironic to Louis that now the moment’s finally arrived, it’s _Harry_ who’s reluctant to leave the reserve for the night.  

“You’d tell me, though – right? If it’s too much, if you’re too busy, you’d be honest with me right?” Harry can't help but check again.

Louis rolls his eyes before grabbing Harry’s hand and lifting it up to his lips so he can give it a little kiss.

‘Yes, I promise I’d definitely tell you if I needed to stay here. But I don’t have to. I’m all good, you’re all good, all my babies are good. Ready to dance the night away, darling?’ He questions as they step up to the fireplace situated in Louis’ office at the reserve.

Harry takes a deep breath, squeezes Louis’ hand, then lets a grin take over his face.

“More than ready,” he confirms.  

Louis is glad he took a chance. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment or kudo if you liked this fic :)


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